Restoration Priorities for the Parker, Ipswich & Essex River Watersheds Action Plan - June 2019 Update A primer on major ecological stressors affecting the region and opportunities to preserve, restore and monitor ecosystem health in the Great Marsh and its contributing watersheds. Originally written by Ipswich River Watershed Association staff in February 2013 on behalf of the Parker-Ipswich-Essex Rivers (PIE-Rivers) Restoration Partnership Summary This report summarizes important opportunities to protect and restore the valuable aquatic resources of the PIE-Rivers region, which includes the combined watersheds and estuaries of the Parker, Ipswich and Essex Rivers in northeastern Massachusetts. Opportunities are presented in the form of specific actions that can be implemented by a range of partners. Actions were identified and prioritized by members of the PIE-Rivers Steering Committee and four Technical Sub-Committees, based on factors including ecological importance, time sensitivity, likelihood of success, and feasibility (fiscal, technical, and social). In 2019, the plan was updated to include the emerging issue of climate resiliency to reflect the critical role that natural resources play in this issue. Individual actions cover a range of topics, from scientific monitoring to resource management, from outreach initiatives to physical habitat restoration, but all share the common goal of protecting and restoring our rivers and water resources over the long-term. The report also provides context regarding regional restoration and resiliency efforts. To this end we describe the importance of the region’s aquatic resources, highlight some of the major ecological stressors threatening those resources, and provide background on the PIE-Rivers Partnership’s approach. The document provides a framework to facilitate the planning, coordination and tracking of resiliency and restoration efforts. The PIE-Rivers Partnership intends to treat this as a “living document”, using it to monitor accomplishments and updating information on threats, necessary actions, and priorities as conditions require. We hope this document will be a valuable resource to a wide range of current and future partners working in the region including conservation organizations, municipalities, state and federal agencies, and private landowners. For more information on the PIE-Rivers Partnership or to become involved please visit our website at www.pie-rivers.org Table of Contents Summary ......................................................................................................................... i Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. ii PIE-Rivers Region ............................................................................................................ 1 Ecological Threats ............................................................................................................ 2 Low Flow ...................................................................................................................... 2 Migration Barriers ......................................................................................................... 4 Upland Development and Land Use ................................................................................. 5 Disjointed Water Management ........................................................................................ 6 Climate Change ............................................................................................................ 7 The Partnership ............................................................................................................... 8 PIE-Rivers Mission ......................................................................................................... 9 Approach ..................................................................................................................... 9 Partners ....................................................................................................................... 9 Funding Support ......................................................................................................... 10 Restoration Framework ................................................................................................... 10 Actions ......................................................................................................................... 12 Toolkit 1: Community Involvement................................................................................ 12 Toolkit 2: Restoration Science and Prioritization .............................................................. 13 Toolkit 3: Monitoring and Technical Support ................................................................... 16 Toolkit 4: Integrated Water Management ....................................................................... 18 Toolkit 5: Land Protection and Management ................................................................... 19 Toolkit 6: Habitat Restoration ....................................................................................... 18 Glossary ....................................................................................................................... 22 Literature Cited ............................................................................................................. 221 Appendix 1: Objectives .................................................................................................. 224 Appendix 2: 2013 Prioritized Actions ............................................................................... 227 ii PIE-Rivers Region The PIE-Rivers region refers to the combined watersheds and estuaries of the Parker, Ipswich and Essex Rivers in northeastern Massachusetts (Figure 1). This area encompasses all or parts of 28 towns. The Parker, Ipswich and Essex River Watersheds and Great Marsh offer some of the most outstanding ecological resources in Massachusetts. The region includes large areas of permanently protected land, including a national wildlife refuge, several state parks and forests, and other publicly and privately held conservation lands. The watersheds include extensive state-designated high quality natural resources and several coldwater fisheries, which are rare in eastern Massachusetts. The estuaries of the 3 river basins constitute the first and largest designated Area of Critical Environmental Concern in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Parker and Ipswich river basins make Figure 1. Map of the PIE-Rivers region showing major streams and BioMap2 core habitat and critical natural up the watershed of Plum Island Sound, landscapes. the largest wetland-dominated estuary in New England, supporting extremely productive commercial and recreational soft-shell clam and striped bass fisheries. Together with the Essex, these rivers encompass the entire coastal watershed between the Merrimack River and Cape Ann. The coastal zone of the watersheds comprises much of the Great Marsh, the largest continuous salt marsh in New England. The estuaries of the Great Marsh and their contributing watersheds also host a multitude of recreational and commercial activities including boating, sailing, angling, shellfishing, swimming, birding, kayaking and canoeing. The Parker River National Wildlife Refuge is a major ecological resource as well as an internationally known birding area. The entire project area is part of the Essex National Heritage Area, designated by Congress as a nationally important landscape. These river basins are also the subject of an outstanding body of scientific research by the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, the University of New Hampshire, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and others. 1 Ecological Threats Unfortunately the PIE-Rivers region is under significant stresses that threaten to undermine the long-term ecological integrity of the system. Substantial portions of the watersheds suffer from severe water losses that dry up the rivers causing fish kills and other environmental damage. Development in the watersheds increases polluted runoff and has fragmented some important wildlife habitats and natural areas. We are already experiencing the effects of global climate change, including heavy precipitation events, more intense storms, longer stretches of hot and dry days, coastal erosion, and rising sea level. The migratory fisheries (including rainbow smelt, river herring, and American shad) are experiencing significant population declines and native freshwater fish populations are severely impacted. The Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program has documented vulnerable and rare plant communities, as well as rare plant and animal species, in the project area. The major ecological threats currently influencing the region include: Low Flow Rivers are naturally dynamic, or constantly changing, environments and river creatures can tolerate a wide range of flow conditions; however, extreme low-flow and no-flow conditions can cause considerable harm. Severe, frequent low-flow events stress fish and aquatic communities in the PIE-Rivers region, especially in the Parker and Ipswich Rivers. While a number of issues contribute to the frequency and severity of low-flow events, groundwater withdrawal for municipal and private use is a major driving factor. The most severe impacts are from summer groundwater withdrawals, which capture water that the rivers